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But the Crackling Is Superb: An Anthology on Food and Drink by Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society
First published in 1988, this is a treasure trove of insights into science in the kitchen. It contains an entertaining collection of pieces, ranging from recipes to historical notes, and from mathematical treatments to technical descriptions to challenge the stereotype of the scientist as an impractical eccentric. This paperback edition is being issued for new generations of readers to enjoy.
Almost all of the articles included were written especially for this book. Recipes range from the simple to the elaborate, for example Seymour Rabinovitch's "Boiled Can", to Nicholas Kurti's new instructions for preparing "Safe Salmonella-Contaminated Soft-Boiled Eggs".
But the Crackling is Superb demonstrates that some scientists enjoy writing light-heartedly on subjects outside their speciality.
Written for physicists interested in cooking, and for all of us intrigued to learn about science in the kitchen.
Almost all of the articles included were written especially for this book. Recipes range from the simple to the elaborate, for example Seymour Rabinovitch's "Boiled Can", to Nicholas Kurti's new instructions for preparing "Safe Salmonella-Contaminated Soft-Boiled Eggs".
But the Crackling is Superb demonstrates that some scientists enjoy writing light-heartedly on subjects outside their speciality.
Written for physicists interested in cooking, and for all of us intrigued to learn about science in the kitchen.
- GenresNonfiction
25 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1988
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31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 2, 2015
A book to which I return to again and again. It is not a cookery book. It is not a textbook on “molecular gastronomy”; though it may very well have inspired that present fashion.
This book is an anthology of the appliance of physics, chemistry, anthropology, … and just basic scientific curiosity and experimentation on food and cooking. The book also contains a number of recipes
Where else might one find a recipe for Savoury seal brains on toast? Other, that is than in “Recipes of an Antarctic cook”, by Gerald T Cutland (Polar Record 9, No. 63, pp 562-9)? And I’ve definitely heard Heston Blumenthal talk about marinating by injection (read János Szentágothai, on pgs 92-94 of this book). A famous cosmologist who unintentionally applied particle physics theories to rice is also immortalised (albeit anonymously).
The scientific insight which I have personally found most useful is E Lester Smith’s contribution on “The Bakery Graph”. It’s a beautiful depiction on triangular graph paper of recipes for bread, scones, biscuits, sponges, pastries, pancakes … indeed anything which contains some or all of five basic ingredients: flour, fat, egg, liquid (milk or water), and sugar. Very elegant, and of invaluable practical use in determining whether the new recipe one is about to try out is (or is not) capable of producing the desired edible product.
This book is an anthology of the appliance of physics, chemistry, anthropology, … and just basic scientific curiosity and experimentation on food and cooking. The book also contains a number of recipes
Where else might one find a recipe for Savoury seal brains on toast? Other, that is than in “Recipes of an Antarctic cook”, by Gerald T Cutland (Polar Record 9, No. 63, pp 562-9)? And I’ve definitely heard Heston Blumenthal talk about marinating by injection (read János Szentágothai, on pgs 92-94 of this book). A famous cosmologist who unintentionally applied particle physics theories to rice is also immortalised (albeit anonymously).
The scientific insight which I have personally found most useful is E Lester Smith’s contribution on “The Bakery Graph”. It’s a beautiful depiction on triangular graph paper of recipes for bread, scones, biscuits, sponges, pastries, pancakes … indeed anything which contains some or all of five basic ingredients: flour, fat, egg, liquid (milk or water), and sugar. Very elegant, and of invaluable practical use in determining whether the new recipe one is about to try out is (or is not) capable of producing the desired edible product.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews